The main activities of the report was census taking throughout the Minj District and through other regions of which the names are illegible due to text fading. Notable areas are Kudjip, Tambal and Mauwi. The census-taking was conducted from rest houses, with populations lined up outside of them in order to be recorded[1][2], with the populations of each region being split into lists according to resthouse. Kudjip had a population of 1499 whilst Tambal had 715 and Mauwi had 624[3]. There are also surveying efforts and anthropological observations, as Appendix ‘F’ clarifies that ‘There are no navigable rivers in the Kambia as all the rivers are shallow and fast flowing’[4]. This does bring context to earlier events under the Native Affairs section, in which residents of the village wished for transportation methods for their goods to have facilitated development; such as coffee from the plantation and lumber[5]. As such, maps are included at the end to reflect the surveying of the region, documenting the path of the patrol, rest houses, camp sites and census records in detail[6].
The state of development encountered by the patrol were documented as limited, the Kambia being reported to have no roads or bridges, with overgrown ‘foot tracks’ serving as a path between villages[7]. Hook also remarks that they follow rivers or outcrops and are not feasible for long distance traveling[8]. Other key activities within this report were disputes between indigenous groups, some of which required the patrol officers to facilitate in settling them. Hook classes them as ‘petty disputes and minor domestic problems’, with the anthropological observation that the disputes ‘do not involve matters of law but rather of tradition’, meaning that they were better solved by the groups themselves[9]. The areas visited, although did not have advanced development in the forms of roads or bridges, did have established agriculture, though Hook remarks upon it as being limited. ‘Coffee has been planted up in scattered blocks throughout the area patrolled’, he remarks that the the plot owned by Nopnop near Minj station is the most sophisticated and well prepared for the replanting of crops in the next season[10]. Another crop well established for farming in the area was sweet potato, with many european vegetables in short supply within the area. Thus, the diet was supplemented by ‘taro, bananas, pawpaw, sugar-cane’[11].
Within the Kudjip area, where a food shortage was being experienced, Hook observed that with the planting of ‘many large gardens’ and the suited environment for climate and soil, it could be confidently overcome. Furthermore, these conditions also reinforced his observation that with surplus, the villagers could grow, ‘cash crops’ to build an independent and sound economy11.
The only livestock present in this area were pigs, which fuelled many of the ‘petty disputes’, as the animals were ‘highly prized’ yet difficult to contain; meaning that the trespassing of pigs into gardens and other property gave rise to ‘ill feeling’ about them12. There is also a detailed report of the different mission schools of the area, as there was only one Administration school at Minj, whilst the areas Mondomil and Kugak had exclusively mission education. Hook remarks upon the ‘other missions’, meaning Roman Cathlolic and SEB Missions having ‘teachers who are essentially religious leaders and not teachers at all’, discouraging children from actively attending schools[12]. There is a clear disparity between the quality of education under the administration school, in that ‘many more [people] would like to attend if they were able’ as opposed to Mission Schools attempting to follow the administration syllabus[13].
Report Analysis:
Can you find out anything about the perspective of the patrol officer/district officer who conducted the patrol?
D.J Hook’s perspective appears to be anthropologically inclined due to observations such as, ‘to my inexperienced eye’[14] and that the ‘petty disputes’ were matters concerned with traditions and land ownership; of which he observes that those matters would be better handled by local authorities[15]. There is acknowledgement of the existing power structures. Sahlins determines these authorities to be structured as such, ‘In New Guinea and nearby areas of western Melanesia, small and loosely ordered political groupings are numerous’[16]and that the structure operated in a pyramidal structure so that there was a head of group authority[17]. Although the observations of this power structure do operate through the social lens of the 1950s and 1960s, in which Melanisian power structures are considered ‘underdeveloped’[18], DJ Hook surveys the value in which mutual respect between both authorities must treat each other in order for the patrol to be received amiably in highland territories[19]. The ‘structure and performance [politically] is a more personal contrast, one in quality of leadership. An historically particular type of leader-figure, the “big-man”… appears in the underdeveloped settings of Melanesia’[20], which contrasts with the Australian colonial structure. Due to the difference in power structures between localised authorities and patrol officers, there is the desire for mediation of disputes by patrol officers. Furthermore, Hook reinforced that this mediation was done in such a way that ‘village headmen’ were encouraged to realise the ‘responsibilities’ and authority that they did possess for more culturally informed disputes[21]. Often the limitations described within the report are due to lack of funding from the administration, such as it being infeasible to build a medical station closer in the district when another is an hour walk away- despite the need for transportation of pregnant individuals; or need for properly constructed paths between villagers, something which would fall upon the local peoples themselves[22].
What about on the Papua New Guinean side? Can there be any suggested alternative explanations for the behaviours that are described in the report?
The growth of Coffee as an industry, though introduced in the 1940s, village-grown coffee predates this rapid commercialisation of coffee production and processing. Giving this power to village-owned production, created an involvement within a forming cash economy. This allowed further involvement rather than subjugation within colonial administration[23]. ‘They had already been growing coffee before 1952, but during the late 1950s and early 1960s the indigenous production system boomed’[24]. Furthermore, the management of these places does suggest – from a local perspective – that the knowledge of the land and growth patterns were more knowledgeable than colonial perspectives allowed. ‘To prepare the way for ultimately fitting the native people, in a way they can understand, into the Territory’s political system’[25], though reflects the colonial plans, there is a question as to how much agency localised councils had. Hook describes the Patrol being met with enthusiasm and trust in their authority27, which reflects West’s observation that local Highland peoples were enthusiastic about the coffee production and trade.
‘First, Highlanders were experiencing a boom in their traditional exchange system because of European trade goods and the influx of cash in 1957, which quickly entered into prosperous systems of exchange’[26]. This demonstrates the eagerness of local peoples to have agency within participation with administratively sanctioned planning by ANGAU. Another reason that West proposes for the Papua New Guinean perspective is that for indigenous people, ‘there were few opportunities to earn [money]’ under the nineteen-fifties administration[27]. To what extent the peoples within Minj experienced this, can be reflected in the infrastructural state of villages and wealth of the people documented.
Local decision making was still something under way within the patrol report and the disparity between power structures is present. The other issue with the census is that it only documents family structures in an Australian-centric manner, not accounting for cultural differences. The expectation of a family unit within the 1950s was a mother, father and biological children. However, due to the prevalence of adoption practices within the Highlands[28], there is a disparity between the Papua New Guinean understanding of family, as opposed to Australian Administration records. This raises the question as to whether family units were accurately documented by the Patrol from the Papua New Guinean perspective. Though cultural differences were documented in anthropological observation, there is little change to administrative practices, as reflected in the census documentation at the end of the report.
Think about Cohn’s investigative modalities. Are any of these evident in the report?
Historiographic Modality[29]– is the investigation of prior histories and practices of a region. Although there is no overt display of this prior knowledge within the report, there is acknowledgement of the cultures between locations within their own negotiations. However, there is a lack of cultural insight in regards to agricultural practices within Malenisian structures and practices. There is observation that, ‘Coffee has been up in scattered blocks throughout the area patrolled, but in most cases has been planted in a haphazard manner’[30]. However, MacDonald argues that farming and gardening was an intrinsic part of Malenisean cultures. ‘According to pre-historians gardening began in the mountainous interior of New Guinea some ten thousand years ago, as early as it began anywhere else in the world.’[31] Like many cultures around the world, it emphasises the importance of farming to the workings of cultural practices within the highlands, especially as explanations of personhood and spirituality[32]. She further argues that food also reflected positions within the Administration, with the presence of ‘white’ associated foods such as European vegetables, tinned foods and rice as signifiers that ‘They worked for the government, that is for the Australian Administration of the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, or for the coffee plantations starting to be developed’[33]. Furthermore, in many regions within the Highlands – Macdonald specifically writing of Kewa, there is evidence of garden nurturing, ‘People engage in “garden talk” and “food talk, “addressing their gardens and crops, singing to them, encouraging their development’[34]. This raises the question as to whether similar cultural practices took place in the Minj district, and thus accounted for the placement of gardens and coffee plants; rather than the ‘primitive’ appearance to Colonial people.
Enumerative Modality[35], in which collection of information about the peoples of the region is absolutely present within census-taking; such as ‘occupation, migrations, absences from the village and labour potential’[36]. These documentations make up a picture of village life through the colonial lens of understanding. This is due to the classification of peoples in ‘male and female’ and family units within the nuclear lens. Furthermore, there is the classification of absences from the village being due to being ‘At Work’ or ‘Students’ and whether or not they were working within the district, or being educated by ‘missions’, ‘govt.’[37]. This creates a picture of the village population; how large families are, who is being educated by the administration, which people are labourers – due to, in part, the Highlands Labour Scheme. Reading with the colonial grain, there is clear recording for administrative purposes as ‘Colonial administrations were prolific producers of social categories’[38]. These social categories allow for further anthropological observations of the difference between village life.
Finally, write a brief summary of the report, and include, from the list that is provided here, the keywords that can be used to describe it.
Volume 6- Report Number 1 documents the census and taxation census of the Minj District in the date range from the twenty third of June 1958, until the Eighth of August 1958. The 47 day patrol documents the differing native affairs and census populations among different regions. It is divided into an Introduction; containing the overview of a routine patrol, weather and travel conditions. Native Affairs; which outlines the anthropological observations of life among indigenous peoples, village development and ownership land disputes. There is also documentation of coffee plantations, taxation and management of these properties. The requests from populations within the Minj Area also focuses on transportation methods for their goods such as coffee export and lumber. Village Officials; outlines the new authorities present in each village and development. Roads and Bridges; is a shorter section that documents the construction of village paths, roads and connections between areas. Law and Justice; discusses the handling of land disputes. Missions; remarks upon the activities of the Swiss Evangelical Brotherhood, Roman Catholics and Mission of Texas in their collaborative efforts and schools. There is a larger section, Census; which contains specifics of the census taken as overviewed in the Diary Section. Finally there are Appendices A-F containing reports of the patrol offices, Health and Hygiene, Food and Agriculture and Education in the district. There are maps, population records included post appendices.
Bibliography
Hook, D.J, Patrol no.1 of 1958/59, 23 June- 8 Aug, 1958, Patrol Reports. Western Highlands District, Minj, 1958-1959. National Archives of Papua New Guinea, Accession 496 Secondary sources:
Cohn, B.S. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: the British In India. (E-book, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996) https://hdl-handle-net.ezproxy-b.deakin.edu.au/2027/heb.01826.
Macdonald M.N, ‘FOOD AND GENDER IN THE HIGHLANDS OF PAPUA NEW
GUINEA’, Journal of Ritual Studies, 14/1, (Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew J. Strathern, 2000) Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44368574(2000)
Sahlins M.D (1963), ‘Poor Man, Rich Man, Big-Man, Chief: Political Types in Melanesia and Polynesia’, Comparative Studies in Society and History,Vol. 5, No. 3 (Apr.1963), Cambridge University Press: 286 https://www.jstor.org/stable/177650
Stoler, A.L, ‘Prologue in Two Parts- Part 1’, Along the Archival Grain : Epistemic Anxieties and Colonial Common Sense, (Princeton University Press 2008) ProQuest Ebook Central
West, P From Modern Production to Imagined Primitive : The Social World of Coffee from
Papua New Guinea, (Duke University Press, 2012). ProQuest Ebook Central
[1] Hook, D.J, Patrol no.1 of 1958/59, 23 June- 8 Aug, 1958, Patrol Reports. Western Highlands District, Minj,
[2] -1959. National Archives of Papua New Guinea, Accession 496:11
[3] Hook D.J Patrol no.1,1958:11
[4] Hook D.J Patrol no.1,1958:Appendix “F”
[5] Hook D.J Patrol no.1,1958:7
[6] Hook D.J Patrol no.1,1958: Map
[7] Hook D.J Patrol no.1,1958:8
[8] Hook D.J Patrol no.1,1958:8
[9] Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958:7
[10] Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958: Appendix “C”
[11] Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958: Appendix “C” 11 Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958: Appendix “C” 12 Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958: Appendix “C”
[12] Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958: Appendix “D”
[13] Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958: Appendix “D”
[14] Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958: Appendix “C”
[15] Hook D.J,Patrol no.1,1958: Appendix “C”
[16] Sahlins MD (1963), ‘Poor Man, Rich Man, Big-Man, Chief: Political Types in Melanesia and Polynesia’, Comparative Studies in Society and History,Vol. 5, No. 3 (Apr.1963), Cambridge University Press: 286 https://www.jstor.org/stable/177650
[17] Sahlins MD:285
[18] Sahlins MD:288
[19] Hook D.J, Patrol no.1, 1958:7
[20] Sahlins MD:288
[21] Hook D.J, Patrol no.1, 1958:7
[22] Hook D.J, Patrol no.1, 1958:5
[23] West, P From Modern Production to Imagined Primitive : The Social World of Coffee from Papua New Guinea, (Duke University Press, 2012). ProQuest Ebook Central
[24] West, P (2012)
[25] Circular Instruction no.141, (4 february 1952), in Downs:103 27 Hook D.J, Patrol no.1, 1958:3
[26] West, P (2012):83
[27] West, P (2012):83
[28] Macdonald M.N, ‘FOOD AND GENDER IN THE HIGHLANDS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA’, Journal of
Ritual Studies, 14/1, (Pamela J. Stewart and Andrew J. Strathern, 2000) Stable URL:
[29] Cohn, B.S. Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: the British In India. (E-book, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996) https://hdl-handle-net.ezproxy-b.deakin.edu.au/2027/heb.01826.
[30] Hook D.J, Patrol no.1, 1958: Appendix “C”
[31] MacDonald:23-24
[32] MacDonald:24
[33] MacDonald:25
[34] MacDonald:26
[35] Cohn, B.S.(1996):xii
[36] Hook D.J, Patrol no.1, 1958: “Village Population Register -1”
[37] Hook D.J, Patrol no.1, 1958: “Village Population Register -1”
[38] Stoler, AL, ‘Prologue in Two Parts- Part 1’, Along the Archival Grain : Epistemic Anxieties and Colonial Common Sense, Princeton University Press, (2008) ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/deakin/detail.action?docID=617242.